football, Rockies, misc.

Hi! First of all, an article about the impact that the Facing the Giants movie has made world-wide, 1 year after it was released. If you haven't seen this movie, I strongly recommend it. It's one of my all-time favorites. Here's the article: http://www.bpsports.net/bpsports.asp?ID=5684.

Here's an article about former Falcons wide receiver Eric Beverly and his wife Danielle, who is fighting breast cancer for the third time. She was miraculously able to have a baby normally after going through cancer treatments twice, but not long before the baby, Lia, was born in June, the lumps returned. Here's a quote from Danielle about it:

"God gave me cancer at a young age so we could make a difference," says Danielle, who is 33, as is her husband. "I beat this the first two times, and I am going to see Lia graduate, get married and have children. I will be a 45-year cancer survivor.... And I am praying that when she's older there is a cure."

Here's the article: http://www.ajc.com/health/content/health/stories/2007/10/17/beverly_1018.html?imw=Y.

Next, another article about Rockies manager Clint Hurdle, a Christian, and how he got to this point in his life: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/mlb/article/0,2777,DRMN_23924_5725799,00.html (originally found at: http://apps.facebook.com/sportsuperfan/teams/news/97).

Here's a good article about Rockies scout Will George, whose wife Florinda died from breast cancer in May, and how the Rockies now have an angel looking over them: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071017&content_id=2270509&vkey=news_col&fext=.jsp&c_id=col.

Also, staying with the Rockies, an article about Rockies pitcher Matt Herges, a Christian, and his strange path to the Rockies, which included spending a good part of this season with their Triple-A Colorado Springs. No other Major League team would give him a chance last spring, but the Rockies offered him a minor-league contract. He earned his way back to the Majors and has been a big part of the Rockies playoff run. Here's the article (includes video): http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071018&content_id=2271038&vkey=ps2007news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Here's a neat article about how MLB donates the T-shirts and hats from the losing teams in each playoff round, and the Wild Card play-in game, to World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization. World Vision then gives the shirts to people around the world who have lost everything from natural disasters or other reasons. The NFL also does this. I think that this is so neat. If people doesn't have anything to wear, they're not going to care what a shirt says. It's something to wear and they're grateful. The shirts and hats would otherwise just be destroyed. Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071018&content_id=2271371&vkey=news_col&fext=.jsp&c_id=col.

Next, an inspiring article about Hamilton Southeastern High School (Indianapolis) senior football player Nick Sliger, who has overcome learning disabilities to become eligible to play football at IU next year. He was just going to take a certificate of attendance and not get his degree, but then he started getting recruiting letters from different colleges. So he decided to commit to catching up and taking the classes required for him to go to IU, with help. Here's the article: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071019/SPORTS0202/710190461/1247/SPORTS.

Here's a good Christian article about Danny Lotz, member of the 1957 North Carolina national championship team and husband of Anne Graham Lotz, and Albert Long, a star athlete at North Carolina in the 1950's, and how they started a weekly men's Bible study on the North Carolina campus: http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/741871.html (originally found at: http://www.fca.org/).

Also, another article about Deanna Favre, the wife of Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who has overcome breast cancer. She has become a speaker about breast cancer, overcoming nerves at an initial speaking engagement at Wisconsin-Madison. Here's a quote from her about it:

"I have come a long way from that Madison talk," she says as she sits in a conference room high above the Lambeau Field atrium. "When I was asked to speak the first time, I said, 'Absolutely not.' But it really tugged at my heart. I think God was telling me, 'You have to do this. This is your calling.'

"I was always one of those skeptical people who'd say, 'All these people who say they have these callings from God, or God told them to move here or move there, how do they know?' Well, now I know. And all I'm doing, really, is telling my story. And who knows it better than me?"

Here's the article: http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=252149&ntpid=1 (originally found at: http://apps.facebook.com/sportsuperfan/teams/news/12).

Here's a Christian note from Wednesday's "The Daily" from Sports Spectrum about Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook:

COOK ON THE MENU: Aaron Cook is just glad to be alive. And now the gets the special bonus of being added to the Colorado roster for the World Series. Cook has been injured since early August, but with his injured side muscle has recovered. So Cook is in and slated to pitch Game 4 for the Rockies. In August 2004, Aaron Cook nearly died. Should have, doctors figured. He was pitching against Cincinnati when he started getting dizzy and nearly blacking out. He was taken from Coors Field to a hospital, where doctors discovered multiple blood clots in his lungs. According to Cook, “The doctors said they didn’t know how I was still alive.” Treatments and two rounds of corrective surgery followed, and Cook returned to the mound in 2005. About this near-tragic medical event, Cook told Sports Spectrum magazine, “It was in God’s hands, and I didn’t have any control over it. Probably the best thing I was told was this: Anything that you don’t have control over is ‘sovereign’—meaning that God has it in control, and we can’t worry about those things. God’s got it in His hands.”

Here's the link: http://www.sportsspectrum.com/daily/archives/071024.php.

Next, an article about Titans linebacker Corey Simon, a Christian, announcing his retirement yesterday: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=ArwcFYeg6G4fxlyiUA6m1Ul.T4h4?slug=ap-titans-simon&prov=ap&type=lgns.

Here's an article about Cardinals pitcher Mike Maroth, a Christian, being released by the team yesterday: http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10431696/rss.

Lastly, an article about Colts center Jeff Saturday, a Christian, giving a talk about healthy eating to kids at Orchard Park Elementary School in Indianapolis this week: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071026/LOCAL0101/71026002/-1/LOCAL17 (originally found at: http://apps.facebook.com/sportsuperfan/teams/news/14).

Baseball misc., etc.

First of all, Here's a link to Cardinals pitcher Mike Maroth's (a Christian) blog on his website and what he had to say after being traded last Friday from the Tigers, which I thought was really good: http://www.marothbaseball.com/blog.asp.

I found Cardinals shortstop David Eckstein's (a Christian) website. Here's the address: http://www.davideckstein.com/.

Next, a few articles about the memorial service held for IU football head coach Terry Hoeppner last Saturday afternoon. His wife wanted it on Saturday afternoon because that was game time. The first is about the state trooper that's in charge of the IU head football coach's security, and how much Coach Hep meant to him as a friend too: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070623/SPORTS0601/706230506/1247/SPORTS.

The other two articles are about the service itself and the team's goal of making it to a bowl game for the first time since 1993: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2914372
and http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070624/SPORTS0601/706240450/1247/SPORTS.

The last thing about Hoeppner is an article with a link to the video segment from the Indianapolis news about the service: http://www.wishtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6700135.

Also, an update on Cubs outfielder Cliff Floyd's dad from last weekend:

Cliff Floyd's father required heart surgery two days ago, and was recuperating at a Chicago hospital. "He's coming around," Floyd said. "He says he's not in pain."

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070623&content_id=2044596&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Here's an article about three current/former Christian Tigers pitchers: about Chad Durbin moving to the bullpen, Nate Robertson coming off the Disabled List, and Robertson on Mike Maroth leaving the team after his trade to the Cardinals.: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070623&content_id=2044615&vkey=news_det&fext=.jsp&c_id=det.

Next, an article about the Indians win on Saturday night on the road against the Nationals being inspired by a wounded soldier that Paul Byrd (a Christian) and Victor Martinez met during a team visit to two military hospitals earlier in the day: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/06/23/sports/s203635D62.DTL.

Here's a quote from Cubs manager Lou Piniella about the death of former MLB pitcher Rod Beck last weekend:

"I didn't know Rod -- I'd seen him pitch," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. "I just went to chapel, and we said a prayer for his family. He was a competitor. I always enjoyed watching him pitch and the way he competed and the way he got people out."

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070624&content_id=2046554&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Also, an article about Reds outfielder Josh Hamilton (a Christian) getting through dizzy spells to get hot hitting again: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070624&content_id=2046881&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb.

Here's a quote from Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett from his last start in San Diego about a hard hit ball that was an out at Petco Park that might have been a homer elsewhere:

Beckett realizes he got away with one.

"Hanging curveball," Beckett said. "This field plays so big; in a lot of ballparks, it definitely could have been a home run. It's one of those deals where you thank God for where you're playing."

Here's the article: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20070624&content_id=2046388&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb&partnered=rss_mlb.

Next, an article on how NC State women's basketball coach Kay Yow's (a Christian) cancer treatments are going, which it sounds like it's going pretty well. Here's the article: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/news/story?id=2916199.

Lastly, a link to teenage surfer Bethany Hamilton's (a Christian) websites: http://www.bethanyhamilton.com/ and http://www.myspace.com/surferbethanyhamilton. Also, here's a link to the movie about her: http://www.heartofasoulsurfer.com/.

sports misc.

First, a quote from an article about the Heat's Dwayne Wade and all of his endorsements, which it sounds like he's doing for the right reasons:

Wade still remembers when all this was the stuff of his fantasies.

He grew up very poor and he and his wife often worried about how they would raise their son, Zaire, when he was first born five years ago.

But now, Wade can afford almost anything he wants — and afford to dream big, too.

He wants to be a movie star, build community centers in Miami and Chicago, keep reaching out to kids, all the while being mindful that his top priority remains trying to win another title or more with the Heat.

"I'm trying to do a lot of things, because I just don't want to play basketball and retire," Wade said. "I want to touch lives."

Here's the article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/bkn_brand_wade.

Here's an article about a public service advertisement that Colts head coach Tony Dungy, a Christian, has made for the All Pro Dad organization. It includes a link to watch the commercial: http://www.colts.com/sub.cfm?page=article7&news_id=4661 and a link to the All Pro Dad website.

Next, an article about Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, a Christian, previewing the changes that the Gators are having to make for next season: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=schlabach_mark&id=2765329.

Here's an article about NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip apologizing for his team cheating last week. He said that he felt especially bad when his 9-year-old daughter asked him why he cheated. Here's the article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070215/ap_on_sp_au_ra_ne/car_nascar_daytona_cheating.

Lastly, an article about Wake Forest tailback Micah Andrews, which is also previewing next season. Here's a quote from him about his returning from a torn ACL early last season:

"That's what really bothered me," Andrews said, "the timing of [getting hurt]. I believe God was testing me to see if I would bend or break. In the book of Job, God takes everything away from Job and plagues his family. Job still stayed with God and still praised God. I'm definitely not going to break."

Here's the article: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/columns/story?columnist=maisel_ivan&id=2765646.

Also, in case you haven't watched Facing the Giants yet, I strongly recommend it. I've watched it the last two weekends and I absolutely love it. It's great!

GA Tech's Lewis and "Facing the Giants"

Only one new article today. It's about Georgia Tech football player Jamal Lewis, who played in the Gator Bowl after he was in an accident which killed his good friend and mentor. Here's the article: http://www.ajc.com/gatech/content/sports/gatech/stories/2007/01/01/0102lewisbar.html.

Lastly, here's some about the new movie "Facing the Giants" from today's "The Daily" from Sports Spectrum. I haven't been able to go see the movie at the theater, so I'm glad to see that it will be coming out on DVD soon. From everything that I've heard, it's a great movie.:

• Sports Illustrated called it one of the most inspirational films of the year. It’s called Facing the Giants, and it was one of the most remarkable outreach efforts of 2006. Sherwood Church in Albany, Georgia, produced this full-length feature movie using volunteers and a $100,000 budget—and then saw it become a Top 20 movie in terms of box-office take. And now Sherwood Pictures is preparing Facing the Giants for DVD distribution, which begins on January 30. To find out more about Facing the Giants, go to www.facingthegiants.com.

Here's the page: http://www.sportsspectrum.com/daily/.